1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to conducting business transactions, and more particularly to providing a business model at least partially based on creating and managing investments in real property. The invention also relates to the formation of a market which allows investors to trade property-based investments in a public or private setting.
2. Background of the Related Art
The option of obtaining money based on equity in real estate is well known. This option is often taken by homeowners looking for ways to finance college tuition, make home improvements, or satisfy other needs or interests. The traditional way of obtaining money from equity in property involves applying for a loan, paying processing fees, and making payments with interest to the lienholder for the life of the loan. Obtaining loans, or other forms of debt, can have a beneficial effect in terms of establishing a favorable credit report. By the same token, incurring additional debt can prove to be burdensome, especially when interest rates are high.
Presently, homeowners and holders of other types of real property cannot extract funds from equity without incurring debt or selling their home or moving to another house. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide property owners with an option that would allow them to obtain money based on the equity in their properties without incurring debt, and that would preferably allow them to continue to live in or otherwise use/occupy their properties with the same or similar degree of control as previously existed and with the same or similar degree of tax benefits. It would also be advantageous to provide investors with a new kind of investment that is based on partial interests in real property that could be separately held or bundled with other partial interests and which could then be traded, for example, in a public or private market.